Here we are at day 4. Still have energy at the end of the day. Not really worried about going anywhere after work hours in the evening. I used to worry about having sustained energy and worry about being out later in the evening. Now not so much.

Oh yes this is the only thing that I have changed in my life. I still take a good compliment of my Usana Nutritionals as that is a very important part of my day. I have added oils via my massage practice that use there as well.

The only thing that I am having trouble with is getting over this silly little cold that I picked up from someone. It is this cold that won't let go. Coughing myself crazy and a runny nose at the worst times. Extra Vit C and my Thieves oil. I know it will go away soon, I just want it to go away now!

If you didn't know my massage business is having a sale on Gift Certificates this month. 20% off the face value of any GC purchased till Dec 28, 2013. Prices start as low as $10 all the way up to my most expensive in home therapy 90 massage. If you need a gift now is the time. These are the lowest prices of the year.

Have a great day today.

My energy

Good morning,

Yesterday was day two of my new oils from Young Living essential oils. I took a Compass Scan about one month ago at a great gathering of YLO people in Kennebunk and my oils came in on Wednesday. I have been using these oils for a long long time in my massage office and recently connected with a new group.

Day one was my Small Business Saturday, not very many people arrived to take advantage of what I had to offer though I am not sad. I have work to do to get more people involved in my work. That silly time away at Seacoast did not help. I got to the office and finished set up. I used the following oils: Ener-gee, and Lemongrass. I was able to be at the office all day w/o any fatigue. I even emptied an entire storage bin and spent most of my day in front of the shredder. Four bags of shredding later, I am here to tell the tale. I was not tired, not sore, not dreading going out after my day. I was just up for anything. This is not usually the case. By 4 in the afternoon I am usually ready for the day to be over. I also booked three massages for the next day without any fear that I would be too tired or too anything to complete them.

Day two-Up in the morning at the usual time and getting ready to go to my office to pick up the supplies for the massages. Again I dropped Ener-gee and Lemongrass. I can't tell you that I felt better till I reflected back today about my day. I didn't dread bringing my table up to the car, I didn't dread carrying my linens and all the rest of the stuff up to the car. This is an ongoing battle for me. I plan my day around trips to do things. Like get to the office first and get all that done, get the heavy work done and then do the rest of the work. Yesterday, well the table was no trouble, the rest of the linens were no trouble and I was off to three massages. The three massages went really well. I was ready to go for all the massages and was not tired at the end of the sessions. Hungry but not tired. I got home and was ready for dinner prep and all the rest of the night. I was not dreading preparing dinner or wanting to crawl into bed and sleep all night till the next morning.

I am pretty excited to find this happening to me. I am happy to have more energy and not as much fatigue from my massage work. I am sure that I absorb a lot from my clients even though I have pretty good boundaries with my work.

Here is a good link to some oil testimonials if you are interested click here.

Have a great day today for the first week of December.

Heather

World AIDS Day December 1, 2013

Good evening, I meant for this post to go out earlier today though you know what happens when the phone rings. I went off to give a series of massages and this got put on the back burner. Considering that this is World AIDS day this post is timely. 

We’ve come such a long way since the early ‘80s, when AIDS crashed onto the scene, killing many and frightening more. There was so little known at that time. It was through the hard work and advocacy of many people that we discovered HIV, learned how to prevent its transmission, and how to hold it in check.

What is HIV?

Today, HIV is a chronic illness, but some of the fear still remains. There are still people working tirelessly to eliminate stigma just as there are those working to find a vaccine and a cure. Still more are working to make the lives of people living with HIV better in whatever ways they can.

Massage therapy is not a cure. It’s not even a treatment. But it can help HIV+ individuals live happier, healthier lives:

• Massage can help alleviate peripheral neuropathy (tingling, numbness, and pain in the feet and legs), a side effect of antiretroviral therapy. Staying on a regular treatment regimen is paramount if you have HIV, so whatever makes that process easier is worthwhile.

• Massage can help with anxiety and depression, both common in HIV+ folks. Mental illness is nothing to sneeze at, and is one of the more common reasons that people find it difficult to take care of themselves.

• Massage can be a positive experience in your own body. When you have a chronic illness of any kind, it’s easy to feel at war with yourself. A massage is a time when you and your body get to be on the same team for a little while.

• Massage is a time to connect through touch. For all the good information out there about HIV/AIDS, there are still plenty of myths about how it is transmitted. This often manifests itself as a lack of everyday touch, which is especially devastating to people who have lost their intimate partners.

So let me state this very clearly:

You will never be turned away from my massage table due to your HIV status. When you have secondary issues that mean that massage would be harmful to either you or me, I will let you know specifically what they are, so that you are not left in the dark. If you find yourself with a condition I am not trained to work with, I will do my best to find you another massage therapist who is.

Your HIV status is private. I will not tell your partner, your mother, your employer, your doctor, or your best friend, unless you specifically ask me to, in writing. If you would like copies of any records or notes I keep about our sessions together, you are welcome to them. But they are not for others’ eyes.

How you contracted HIV is none of my business. Unless it’s something that affects your health in other ways (like current drug use), it has no impact on your massage. But if you do decide to share, I will not judge you.

Here is a link to a brief article about the effects of therapeutic massage on HIV and AIDS patients.

Thank you for reading. Have a great week and I am glad to be back posting. It feels good.